In light of our not-so distant office relocation, I thought that a blog on change would be very fitting.  So, here goes...

I'm sure we can all relate to the fact that as time goes on, things around us change.  Even though none of us wants to admit it, we ourselves change too.  Well I've come to realize that the same is true for matches. 

While change can sometimes be difficult, it can also be wonderful.  I was recently privileged enough to hear this touching story from one of my longer standing matches about the ways in which their match has changed over the years...

At our annual match review meetings, we always ask a number of questions about each match, and I continue to marvel at the different answers that the same questions can evoke. Not long ago, I was conducting an annual review with Randy about his long standing match.  Randy has been a Big Brother to his Little Brother Noah for eight years and they are still going strong to this day.  During his annual review meeting, I was asking Randy about the kinds of activities that he and Noah have been doing together this winter.  Randy let me know that he and Noah have been mostly doing the usual activities lately, one of which being skating on the canal.  Randy reflected that he and Noah have been skating every winter since their match began; to greater or lesser degrees.  Apparently Noah was not a natural at skating right away and it therefore took some lessons and patience from Randy for Noah to get good at it.  Randy mentioned that many times on the canal, he would skate ahead of Noah a bit then come back to check on his progress.  Nothing daunted, Randy and Noah continued to go skating on the canal every year and sure enough Noah's abilities rapidly progressed.  Randy now describes Noah as a smooth, fast, graceful skater even in the worst of conditions.  The story doesn't end there though.  Apparently, the last time the pair went skating together the condition of the ice on the canal was not all that fantastic and Randy was having a little bit of difficulty skating.  With a smile on his face Randy described how he felt watching his now graceful skating buddy skate on up ahead a bit then come back to check on his progress just as he himself had done many years back.  Randy noted to me that he marvels at how their match has changed and how he has enjoyed watching his Little Brother mature into the fantastic person that he is today.

If you want to help give a Little a similar experience, please visit http://www.bbbso.ca/ today!

 *Names in this story have been changed*